Monday, June 22^nd.

Dear Boys and Girls,

Well, here we are, entering our final week of the school year and your 13^th week of home-schooling. It’s just incredible the way our school year has turned out. No-one could ever have anticipated this. We teachers could not be more proud of ALL of you, our star pupils. What you have done over the past 3 months has truly inspired us. You have learned so much, endured so much, coped with so much. Our google classroom drives are just bursting with the evidence of all your hard work. A huge well done and thank you to all of you, and your supportive families, for your enthusiasm, interaction, diligence and infectious good humour throughout. We’ve had highs (zoom calls, virtual graduation, letter writing and shared photos) and lows (missed celebrations, tours, sports day) but we’ve all pulled through, and we kept each other going. Rang 4 & 5 have definitely had to draw on some of our ‘tools of resilience’ which we learned about in the weaving well-being programme earlier this year.

This week, to wrap up, we’ve decided to put the focus on well-being, as we look back with hopefully a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction and as we look forward with a sense of anticipation to a well-earned summer break. We hope you will try some of the mindfulness and well-being activities on the attached timetable. Treat it as a menu, choose one or two to do daily…or more if your circumstances allow it.

The last few weeks have been uncertain, hectic at times, and anxious for many. It’s important that we look after our minds in the same way we look after our bodies. Mental health involves looking after our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel and act. It also changes how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices. Meditation means taking time to train your mind in order to think clearly and calmly. This can be practiced in different ways such as mindfulness. Mindfulness is about being aware of, and accepting, what is happening right now in the present by looking at what is going on both inside and outside of your body….focusing the mind on a particular object, thought or activity. The question is ‘Is your mind full?’ or ‘Are you mindful?’

One of the activities for Monday is to make a calm jar. It’s a bit like a snow globe. I hope you’ll all do that one. Imagine that the glitter is like your thoughts when you’re stressed, mad or upset. You’ll see how they whirl around and make it really difficult to see clearly. That’s why it’s so easy to make silly decisions when you’re upset – because you’re not thinking clearly. Don’t worry, this is normal. Watch what happens when your glitter jar is still for a couple of moments. You’ll see how the glitter starts to settle and the water clears. Your mind works the same way. When you’re calm for a little while, your thoughts start to settle and you start to see things much clearer. Deep breaths during this calming process can help us settle when we feel a lot of emotions. Another nice activity is Tuesdays scavenger hunt…you focus on doing the scavenger hunt just for the sake of doing it and being in the present moment. Whatever you choose to do, have fun with them and enjoy the experiences.

All that remains is for me, on behalf of all your teachers, to wish you and your families a very happy summer holiday. Stay safe, follow the guidelines, keep up the hand-washing. We are looking forward to seeing you all back in your classrooms with your friends next September.

Best wishes,

Mrs. Quinn.